10th Anniversary Holiday Tour
Media Notice
IMMEDIATE NOTICE
Photos Available Online at www.SimpleGiftsMusic.net/press-photos
Contact: Martin Keller, Media Savant Communications Co.
10th ANNIVERSARY FOR RARE MINNESOTA ACOUSTIC ENSEMBLE AT THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS
SIMPLEGIFTS 2012 CONCERT SERIES ANNOUNCED, FEATURING ANGELIC VOCAL HARMONIES BEAUTIFULLY BLENDED WITH VIOLIN, GUITAR, PIANO AND PERCUSSION; HOLIDAY TOUR INCLUDES 10 TWIN CITIES METRO AREA AND 5 OUTSTATE CONCERT EVENTS
TWIN CITIES — What’s rare and worth celebrating at Christmas this year? The peaceful sounds of traditional Christmas carols and hymns sung in angelic three-part harmonies and played on acoustic instruments — and the 10th year anniversary of SimpleGifts (www.simplegiftsmusic.net).
The lovely six-piece ensemble with four Christmas albums over 10 years — and also featuring Billy McLaughlin — is playing 10 dates in the metro area and five concerts outstate this season, running from November 23 to December 23, 2012. SEE SCHEDULE BELOW.
Of all the bustling musical fare offered every holiday season, SimpleGifts stays closet to the heart of Christmas by avoiding commercial and pop holiday repertoire, a trademark of this award-winning group. The 2012 holiday concert season features music from all four SimpleGifts CDs, including Joy to the World, O Come All Ye Faithful, The Cherry Tree Carol, Wexford Carol and their most stunning original piece, the a cappella composition Oh Mary.
METRO AREA:
- November 23: Bloomington Center for the Arts
- November 30: Three Crows (Delano)
- December-7-8 St. Stephan Lutheran Church (Bloomington)
- December 15: St. Michael/Albertville High School of Fine Arts Auditorium
- December 18: Lakeville Area Arts Center
- December 20,21,22, 23: Marine-on-St. Croix Town Hall
OUTSTATE AREA:
- November 29: Newhall Auditorium, Shatluck St. Mary’s School (Fairbault)
- December 1: Crossings at Carnegie (Zumbrota)
- December 13: Historic Paramount Theatre (Austin)
- December 14: Memorial Auditorium (Worthington)
- December 19: Sacred Heart Music Center (Duluth)
As the holidays approach, the 2012 SimpleGifts Holiday Concert Tour includes your location.
PLEASE SEE THE SIMPLEGIFTS WEBSITE FOR TICKET PRICES AND TIMES FOR EACH CONCERT: http://www.simplegiftsmusic.net/concerts.html
Simple Gifts concerts feature music from the group’s four acclaimed albums:
- 2010 — The Star Carol
- 2009 —A Small Town Christmas
- 2007 — Of Shepherds & Angels
- 2002 — A Simple Gift
- Video Sample of SimpleGifts in Concert: http://simplegiftsmusic.net/samples.html
- Sample the simplistic richness of the SimpleGifts Christmas:
Songbook: http://simplegiftsmusic.net/samples.html
10th Annual Holiday Season
There is nothing ordinary about the arrangements this inspired team of musicians delivers both in the studio and in concert. Seen by more than 20,000 live audience members last season, the special group continues to grow in popularity throughout the Upper Midwest and has successfully transitioned from their early days in coffeehouses and small listening rooms to prestigious performing art centers and larger churches.
About Simple Gifts
SimpleGifts is made up of internationally recognized award-winning instrumentalists and vocalists with impressive resumes:
Billy McLaughlin (acoustic guitar/producer) is recognized internationally as a composer and virtuoso performer. He is a 5-time MN Music Award winner and 3-time NACA National Campus Entertainer of the Year (jazz/acoustic) with Billboard Top-Ten Chart experience. He recently made a remarkable comeback from a devastating neuro-muscular disorder called focal dystonia as captured in the award-winning documentary Changing Keys seen throughout MN on PBS. He is the 2010 AAN Public Leadership in Neurology Award-winner whose previous recipients include Michael J. Fox, Julie Andrews and Paul Allen.
Karen Paurus (vocals) is a MN Music Award winner for Best Female Vocalist and has been featured on Prairie Home Companion. She is a regular at the Fitzgerald Theater “Stage Sessions” and has been heard on MPR, Cities 97, Radio K and stations around the nation. She is a composer and recording artist whose latest CD Passion, Prayer and Poison is available on iTunes and CDBaby.
Laura McKenzie (Celtic whistles/bagpipes) With ardent mastery, Laura performs music from Ireland, Scotland, Central France, Galicia, Cape Breton and Minnesota on a splendid array of wind-powered instruments and voice. She has received an abundance of honors and awards in traditional music, including being selected for the original Cherish the Ladies series, featuring noted women in Irish music in America; recognition as a Master Folk Artist by the Minnesota State Arts Board; an Archibald Bush Foundation Fellowship in Traditional and Ethnic Performing Arts; and most recently, winner of a 2012-2013 McKnight Artists Fellowship for Performing Musicians. She can be heard on a multitude of recordings and on several documentaries.
Heather Garborg (vocals/piano/violin) was born into a musical family in Bloomington, MN and grew up participating in competitions on both piano and violin. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from St. Olaf College and recently returned from Nashville where she expanded her songwriting and recording credits. She is very active in the music ministry at Woodland Hills Church in the Twin Cities.
Carin Vagle (vocals/melodica) grew up performing music in a Minneapolis family with parents who were recording artists and touring musicians. Her study of healing voice led her to India and Brazil and she currently practices and teaches Yogic vocal techniques in the Twin Cities. Her first solo CD will be released soon.
Billy “O” Oehrlein (percussion) has shared the stage with everyone from The Oak Ridge Boys and Marie Osmond to Randy Travis and Alabama. He began performing on drums, percussion, and vocals in his teen years and has been a professional musician ever since touring nationally and across Europe. He decorates each song with his very own style of playing that he calls “ornamental-percussion”. Can you tell he’s having fun?
To schedule an advance interview — or an advance performance if possible — please contact Martin Keller, Media Savant Communications Co., 612-729-8585, kelmart@aol.com
